FTDS: Follow the directions stupid?

Well, yes, the stain came with directions, what to do when the colors overlapped, what to do when the stain beaded up on the surface, etc. etc. I read these and then proceeded to lose focus on them and had several of the difficulties mentioned and then didn’t use the suggested remedies. So the stain looks pretty awful in the utility room as the first coat put on with the foam textrure roller was horrible and I tried to etch it again and reapply. Then I got it sponged on and it beaded up and streaked. It was a learning experience, right?

Utility Room Floor

I don’t even have a photo of the disaster area that was my Fix for this. On the rest of the floor I avoided surface beading for the most part by going over the sponged areas with a cloth to rub it in or remove the excess. The only problem was that I had streak marks where the stain layers overlapped. The directions said to spray this area with water before it dried and blend the layers together but I didn’t do that or even remember the remedy. I just proceeded thinking at least it didn’t look as bad as the utility room!

Stained floor gold “latte” coat.

The overlap is apparent in this photo.

Streaks in floor

The gold or latte color went on first and mostly soaked into the floor, the brown coat tended to bead up so I had to go over it with a rag as described. In some spots the brown was too light and the streaking too evident, so I put on a second coat wiping it up again as I went. That tended to dilute the areas that were darker and lighter and blend them together better.

Another view of the brown “Espresso” stain.

The seal coat went on with a napped roller although it also is supposed to soak into the concrete too so in some spots it beaded up as well leaving a mottled surface of white spots.

Seal coat

A partial second coat of the sealer didn’t seem to help this mottling so I gave up.

Sealer beaded up too

The spotted areas of the seal coat might dry and disappear. If not I will have to actually follow the directions and buff it out or use a 3m pad to remove the excess and swipe it again if the sealer is removed.

I intended to buff it anyway. I believe I can also put a top coat of liquid wax on this sealer and buff that for more shine. When I reread the instructions after the job, I was surprised that I had forgotten them in the flurry of activity to get the job done. I am not unhappy with the results even with the issues I had applying the stain. I would definitely use two colors in the future, the gold shining up through the brown gives the floor more depth and the natural differences in the concrete surface are enhanced by the double color in my estimation. Good enough is the enemy of best.